GoAPES: Arctic National Wildlife Range

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Artic Resources Up for Grabs

Over the past couple of months there have been a number of news stories on the 5 countries that have arctic coastlines and are trying to stake a claim to possible resources in the arctic. If nations were allowed to extract these resources, there could be drastic changes in the arctic ecosystem.

1. What resources are nations expected to find in the arctic?
2. Are these resources considered renewable, perpetual, or nonrenewable?
3. How could large scale extraction of these resources cause a shift in climate conditions?
4. What organisms live in the arctic and how would changes in climate affect their survival?

Resources:
Nations Jostle for a Share of the Arctic
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14092469
Global Warmng Polar Bears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQivFU_H5pk
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
http://arctic.fws.gov/

To Students

I wanted to welcome you to my environmental issues blog. As an environmental science teacher, I thought it might be a good idea for students to participate in a conversation about issues related to the health of our planet.

The best way to use a blog is to 1) use the online resources to gain knowledge about a particular issue, 2) post a comment that follows the prescribed outline and incorporates your opinions on the topic, and 3) provide constructive criticism to other students.

From my experience as a natural science teacher, it is important to remember that the environmental sciences focus on how humans use, and disrupt, the natural flow of matter and energy. In most cases, the disruptions result from a rising human population in a specific area. Therefore, environmental science deals with learning how humans can live sustainably. This is accomplished through the use of the scientific method, which involves making observations, forming a hypothesis, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting it. Environmental science also involves using this data to solve the problems that arise from our increased use of our natural resources and the pollution that results from these processes.

Many national exam questions therefore attempt to test a reader’s ability to 1) identify the key problem surrounding an issue, 2) report historical facts related to the issue, 3) develop a plan to gather data, such as through experimentation, 4) provide specific examples of data that would be gained from a particular experiment, 5) provide a method to analyze the results of an experiment, and 6) propose a plan of action through legislation, economic incentives, education or the implementation of new technology.

When you respond to another student's answer, it is important to concentrate on making constructive criticism. First, provide suggestions on how they might incorporate one or more of the topics stated in the paragraph above. Second, provide alternative resources (e.g. vblogs, podcasts, and news articles) that they might want to review. Third, suggest terminology that would better state their case. Lastly, many students (and teachers) miss-spell words or write unclear sentences. A good way to point out these errors is to simply tell them that a particular sentence is unclear and ask them to clarify what they said. Most people can find their own errors.

I hope you enjoy this blog and let me know if it helps you after the exam. I am always looking for comments on how to improve. If any student would like to propose questions, feel free to email me at Thomas Cooper (coopert@thewalkerschool.org). You will need to provide a short introduction, resources, and a rubric.

To Teachers

This blog was created to give Environmental Science students a forum to discuss topics that might be seen on the national exam. Each week a question will be posted that deals with topics found in most environmental science textbooks. Teachers are encouraged to review my class postings, and to encourage their students to add to the discussion. It is my hope that this blog will extend the walls of my classroom and allow us to to meet other environmental teachers and students around the world.

How I use this blog in my classroom:

1) Students listen to the podcast and/or vblog on the topic. Students are then given 20-30 minutes to review the internet resource provided. During the last 20 minutes, students are required to post their answer to the blog.
2) You might also think about giving these as homework over the weekend.
3) Every two chapters I give a test of 40 MCQ's and 1 essay. In this case, I give them the post the night before a test and tell them that after the MCQ, they will be given 20 minutes to post their blog.

In each one of these cases, I project the blog on my whiteboard in the classroom the next day. We then discuss the responses, and I make annotations to the discussion using my tabletPC. If you don't have a tabletPC, you could shine the blog on a whiteboard.

GoAPES

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Artic Resources Up for Grabs

Which method of construction would be best suited for New Orleans?

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To Students

To Teachers